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It is time to head bACK to the island after a week of celebrating with family and friends. It was a week well spent. There was LOTS of food consumed...There was LOTS of time spent on the yoga mat...There was LOTS of time connecting with Mom, old friends, and new friends. But it is time to get bACK into my routine and set my intentions for 2017. My body and mind are ready for my routine and I am VERY READY for the new year! I am just READY for a clean slate and fresh start!

"INTENTION leads to BEHAVIORS which lead to HABITS which lead to PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT which leads to DESTINY"

I am not one to set "goals" for the New Year or at the beginning of a new month, but I do believe in setting intentions, which is one of the many things that I work with, with my Life Coach. My intentions have nothing to do with fitness and food. They dig deeper. They are not easy. They take patience, practice, and work. As you know, working on yourself is never an easy task. Admitting your faults is hard enough, but then taking the time to work on them is when the real work begins...

MY 2017 INTENTIONS:

WIN AT LOVE personally and professionally - The past few months I have experienced a lot of bumps in the road, both personally and professionally. Nothing has come easy. It felt like everything was a struggle and required 100% effort, which in the end was leaving me exhausted, depleted, and slightly negative. 2017 is going to be about WINNING! Winning at love, relationships, business opportunities, health, and overall life. A little cheesy...YES...but for ME, this is the kind of attitude I need to make 2017 a WINNING year!

Travel MORE - I can easily become a hermit on Nantucket and get into a routine. This routine gets comfortable real fast and before I know it POOF time has slipped away. It is time to shake up the routine. It is time to explore. It is time to get out of my comfort zone. I am single. I am young. I have worked hard. It is time to book some trips and BE FREE!

Be FEARLESS - I am always talking about being "fearless" and it is a good reminder and intention for me as the new year approaches. I am a very sensitive person, which is one of my strengths but can also be one of my weaknesses. Sometimes I need to take a little bit of that emotion and sensitivity out of the picture and just GO FOR IT! This applies to all aspects of my life.

Have more FUN - Do I need to say more??? I want to travel more...Go out more...Flirt more...Learn more...Build and dream MORE! I have to step out of my routine and live fully and let my full self shine. It is time to get out of my comfort zone and LIVE! It's time to go FUNNING!

A photo posted by ACKtive Life (@acktivelife) on Dec 12, 2016 at 4:00am PST

It is not a big list and that is a good thing for ME! I believe it is important to keep things SIMPLE! These are intentions that I know I can work on daily. These are intentions that I can give 100% of my attention too. These are intentions that I KNOW I have to work on to be the best version of ME!

Happy Hump Day Friends! It is time for another Island Girls Podcast and we have to say, even though we may be biased, it is a good one! Since it is freezing cold outside, we recommend you grab some coffee or tea and listen to this week "coffee talk" with a young gentleman, while you work on the computer, cook in the kitchen, or even need to be distracted while running on the treadmill.

Last week and Dorothy and I had the pleasure of sitting down with a young man to talk about dating, love, and life 30 miles out at sea on Nantucket Island. Kelly is 27 years old; from Vermont, (hence the "Mountain Man" title we gave him); studying for the LSAT's; working and living on the island until February. We loved chatting with him and getting a younger man's perspective.

I am not going to lie. It definitely made me feel a little old, but hearing him talk about these topics was fun and interesting. I loved how he picks up the phone to call women he is interested in. But I also found it interesting how the women his age felt uncomfortable when he called and would have rather received a text message? Kelley was a total sweetheart and it was such a pleasure to have him on our podcast, so that you can learn more about him and what is like for a 27-year-old man in today's dating world.

Let us know what you think! We really want to start engaging with our listeners and we want to know if you have any specific questions; what you would like us to talk about more; and if you would want to share some of your stories with us. We want this to be a fun, inspiring, and educational space where we can all learn, grow, and support each other.

As you can tell, I am really enjoying these podcasts as it is allowing me to open up more...learn more about myself...spend more time with Dorothy...have fun...and inspire me personally and professionally. Once you start talking about these topics out loud, you are putting them out into the universe, and then it is time to make things happen! I LOVE THAT!

It is the LAST big weekend on beautiful Nantucket, until April and it is time to celebrate! "Stroll" weekend is officially here! The boats and planes are sold out...Restaurants are booked solid...Christmas decorations are everywhere...and the island will be filled with up to 40,000 people! I am looking forward to dressing up, toasting to the festivities with friends, and yes DISCONNECTING to enjoy life on this beautiful island! It has been a busy week and I worked hard, so all those devices need to be shut down. It is time to make REAL connections for 48 hours and celebrate the Christmas season!

BUT...Before I disconnect...We have a NEWpodcast to share with you! This past week Dorothy and I met up with a "Nantucket Gentleman" over coffee and tea at Nantucket Culinary Center to talk about dating, love, and of course Nantucket. It was so much fun to get a male perspective. The conversation was fun, relaxing, and honestly, we could have talked for over an hour. People love to talk about these topics and so do we. (And I know my little sister is going to listen to this and she is going to tell me that I say "like" too much and I noticed that I do...DOH! I will work on that little sister...HAHAHA!) And moving forward...

Here are some of the questions that we asked our "Nantucket Gentleman" were:

Why do men text and not call anymore?

What are some things that women do that are a turnoff?

What do you appreciate about a woman?

So click HERE to listen to the podcast and ENJOY! If you have any questions that you would like us to ask or topics that you want us to cover, please leave them in the comments below. We want to hear from you and know your thoughts!

For a long time, I have been wanting to write about my "Oh So Single Life" and what it is like dating on Nantucket and what it is like to be a single lady in today's society. Let's be real...it is HARD. It is frustrating. It is exhausting. And it is CONFUSING! With all the dating sites, apps, and trying to figure out the "rules", it is a hot mess and sometimes leaves my head spinning. I know that I am not the only lady out there who feels this way. Raise your hand if you agree?

Every time I would try to sit down and write about this, I felt overwhelmed and I was having a hard time putting it ALL on paper. Thank goodness for podcasts! And thank goodness for my partner in crime Dorothy! A few months ago, we started meeting at the Corner Table for delicious coffee, tea, and to talk about life, wellness, love, and Nantucket life. We both love to write, dream BIG, and inspire others, so it occurred to us that we have a lot to share. After brainstorming for a while, we believed it was time to start "Island Girls".

Let us learn a little bit more about Dorothy first...

Dorothy is a 7th generation Nantucketer. When she hit her rock bottom in her 20s, she made a choice that everything she would do in life she would do for love. Every day she makes that choice which has lead her to travel the world, become an entrepreneur, a yogini and love have fueled her writing, having a weekly Freaky Friday column on The Nantucket Chronicle, she has written Amazing Love Diet and has another book coming out, War on Love. Love can be a hard choice to make but it's always worth making.

Make sure to follow the beautiful Dorothy on her social media platforms

So here we GO friends...It is going to be a fun and interesting journey and we hope that all of you will follow along...listen...ask questions...and get involved! Click on the link below and listen to the "Island Girls" FIRST podcast! ENJOY!

On Friday it was windy, gray, and the streets of Nantucket were very quiet! I finally got out of my yoga pants; put on some "going out" attire; added some accessories and makeup and was ready to have a nice evening out. Even though I was going solo, I was so happy to be walking into the Nantucket Culinary Center's event that was being held that night. The environment was warm, welcoming, and perfect for meeting new people and enjoying delicious food and wine.

I first met the owners Joy and Greg at one of their cooking classes last Winter but lost touch during the crazy Summer months, so it was nice to reconnect with them and start working together to talk about this great business and promoting them. I make it a point to go to the cafe, which is below the culinary center at least 1-2 times a week, to not only get out of the house but to enjoy their latte's. They are so so so GOOD! And it is a great place to chat with friends, meet new friends, and work away.

Joy and I met a few weeks ago and just started chatting away about life, food (obviously), ideas, and ways to get people involved with the events and classes they offer. You can check out the schedule here to see the amazing variety that they offer! Joy graciously invited me to come to the event held on Friday and of course I said yes. When have I ever turned down food and wine?

The event on Friday was called "Dinner Demo with Chef Greg in the Demonstration Kitchen". You walked in the door and they had family style tables set up; with appetizers set on the tables; 2 servers; and Chef Greg in the kitchen with a large flat screen TV overhead so you could watch from all angles. The kitchen is clean, modern, but also warm and comfortable. It was the perfect night for a Fall inspired feast and I was so happy to see lots of pumpkin, squash, and cranberries on the counters.

I sat down with some women from NYC who were having a "Girls Weekend" to celebrate one of their birthdays. The dinner started on time. The servers were friendly, professional, and did a great job of making sure everyone was happy. They are very good at making sure your wine glass is always filled! The food was all local ingredients, real, simple, and so delicious. Chef Greg is funny, engaging, and obviously very talented (Chef Greg lived in Colorado for many years and loved that his favorite spot to ski was Steamboat...FUN FACT)! I enjoyed that you could talk with your new friends at the table, but also ask Chef Greg any questions that came up while he was preparing the feast. I could go on and on about my dinner, but since I will be working with Joy and Greg throughout the winter, I can always brag more in other posts.

So start scrolling down through my pictures of these delicious Fall inspired EATS, that left me leaving that night with a very happy belly and heart. THANK YOU, Nantucket Culinary Center for inviting me to this perfect Nantucket Fall event!